Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) – Page 3

4.0 GHS IN INDIA:
India has not officially adopted GHS so far. India currently uses a combination lists and laws to classify chemicals and govern their storage and handling. Before reviewing the present status of GHS in India, let us know the background of developing various statutes relating to safety in particular on handling of hazardous chemicals in India.

In India, the following statutes have provisions on chemical safety, and some of these have also the stipulation about information to be passed on to workers and general public:

• The Factories Act 1948 as amended in 1987 and the Factories Rules framed by various State Governments.
• The Manufacture, Storage, and Import of Hazardous Rules, 1989, (MSIHC).
• The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, (CMV) as amended in 2016.
• The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990.
• Some of the salient provisions in the above statutes and codes are briefed below:

4.1 Factories Act:
The Factories Act for British India was first legislated in 1881, which was only a social legislation arising out of public concern over the employment of young children irrespective of their age, and of women, in textile mills, for almost 12 hours a day. Gradually, welfare measures such as prescription of the age of children to be permitted to work in manufacturing unit, prohibition of children from work in dangerous operations, restriction in the working hours of women, provision of adequate ventilation, washing facilities, drinking water, canteen, etc., where added. Extensive health and safety provisions were also incorporated during these periods. These were achieved through enactment of fresh Factories Act for India, in 1891, 1911, 1922, 1934 and 1948, each with important additional provisions. After such evolution, the Factories Act, 1948, became reasonably complete in all health and safety provisions. Even so, amendments had to be incorporated in 1976 and 1987, based on the practical problems faced in proceedings three decades. In the 1976 amendments, the provision regarding the appointment of qualified safety officer was added. In 1987 amendments, which almost followed the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984, provisions on hazardous process units and environmental safety were added. With the federal setup of the government in the country, the Factories Act and Amendments to the Act are enacted by the Central Government, and enforcement is left to the State Governments, who issue comprehensive Factories Rules under the enabling provisions of the Factories Act.
One of the general duties of every occupier, prescribed under Section 7A (2) (C) of the Factories Act, is to provide such information, instruction, and training and supervision as are necessary to ensure the health and safety of all workers at work. Under Section 41B of the Act also insist that the occupier of every factory involving hazardous process, is to disclose to the workers and the general public, in the prescribed manner, all information regarding the health hazards and measures to overcome such hazards.

The State Factories Rules framed under the Factories Act have prescribed that the information to be disclosed, shall cover:

• Requirements of Sections 41-B and 41-H of the Factories Act.
• A list of hazardous process carried in the factory.
• Location and availability of all MSDS
• Meaning of various labels and markings used on the containers of hazardous substances.
• Physical and health hazards arising out of the exposure to or handling of substances.
• Measures taken by the occupier to ensure safety and control of physical and health hazards.
• Measures to be taken by the workers to ensure safe handling, storage and transportation of hazardous substances.
• Signs and Symptoms likely to be manifested on exposure to hazardous substances and to whom to report;
• Measures to be taken by the workers in case of any spillage or leakage of a hazardous substances;
• Personal Protective Equipment required to be used by workers employed in hazardous process or dangerous operations;
• Role of workers vis-a-vis the emergency plan of the factory, in particular the evacuation procedures;
• Any other information considered necessary by the occupier to ensure safety and health of workers.

The above information shall be compiled and made available to workers individually in the form of booklets or leaflets and display of cautionary notices at the workplaces. This information will be in the language understood by majority of the workers.

Whereas this is a general requirement applicable to all hazardous process units, the State Factories Rules have prescribed in the Schedules on Dangerous Operations, the display of cautionary placards. The State Factories Rules have also made provisions under Section 41-B of the Factories Act, that every occupier shall obtain or develop information on each hazardous substance handled, maintain it as Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and make this available for reference to the workers on request.
The format of this MSDS contain 9 sections viz.: (1) Material Identification and Use; (2) Hazardous Ingredients of Material; (3) Physical Data for Material; (4) Fire and Explosion Hazard of Material; (5) Reactivity Data; (6) Toxicological Properties of Material; (7) Preventive Measures; (8) First Aid Measure and (9) Preparation Date of MSDS.
The Factories Act also specifies the exposure limits to chemicals and toxic substances and lists 116 such substances along with their 15 minutes and 8 hour exposure limits.

4.2 MSIHC Rules:
India has enacted its Environment (Protection) Act, way back in 1986, i.e. immediately after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. In 1989, India has also enacted Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals (MSIHC) Rules, which was amended in 1994 and 2000.
Rule 4(2) (B) (ii) of the MSIHC Rules, stipulate that the occupier should provide to the persons working on the site with information, training and equipment including antidotes necessary to ensure their safety. Rule 13(4) of MSIHC Rules prescribes that the occupier shall ensure that a mock drill of the onsite emergency plan is conducted every six months and it serves as a practical training to the workers on how to handle an accident situation. Rule 15 (1) of MSIHC Rules stipulates that the occupier of a hazardous chemical installation shall take steps to inform the people outside the site about the nature of the potential major accident hazard and safety measures and the ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ to be adopted in the event of a major accident. Rule 17(1,2,3) of MSIHC Rules prescribes that the occupier of a hazardous chemical installation, shall maintain Safety Data Sheets on the hazardous chemicals handled and make them accessible to the workers. Also these rules require labelling of all hazardous chemicals to include physical, chemical and toxicology data.

The format of this Safety Data Sheets contain 10 sections viz.: (1) Chemical Identity; (2) Physical and Chemical Data Section; (3) Fire and Explosion Hazard Data; (4) Reactivity Data; (5) Health Hazard Data; (6) Preventive Measures; (7) Emergency and First Aid Measure; (8) Additional Information/ References; (9) Manufacturer/ Supplier Data and (10) Disclaimer.

4.3 CMV Rules:
Central Motor Vehicles (CMV) Rules, 1989, deals with almost all aspects of road transportation in general and also specifically addresses transportation of hazardous goods. The CMV Rules require Class Label to be displayed in a specified manner during the transport of hazardous chemicals indicating whether the substance transported is toxic, flammable or explosive. Rule 135 of CMV Rules, stipulates that the owner of every goods carriage transporting dangerous or hazardous goods shall ensure that the driver of the carriage has received adequate instruction and training to enable him to understand:

1. the nature of the goods being transported by him,
2. the nature of risks arising out of such goods,
3. the precaution should be taken while the goods carriage is in motion or stationary &
   the action he has to take in case of an emergency.
4. The above aspects are taken care by carrying MSDS and TREMcard in the driver’s cabin of vehicles transporting hazardous chemicals.

4.4 Dock Workers Regulations:
India has separate regulations for dealing with safety, health and welfare of the dock workers, which is covered by Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act 1986, Rules 1990 and Regulations 1990. Regulation Number 111, stipulate that initial and periodical training shall be imparted to all categories of dock workers, responsible and authorised persons depending upon their nature of work and skill required and performing their duties.

4.5 Current Status of GHS:
In July 2011, the Ministry of Environment and Forests published a draft document called Hazardous Substances (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2011. It is fully assigned with United Nations GHS. Even though the Rules have never officially been adopted, the new 16 Section Safety Data Sheet (SDS) requirements given in the draft document can help in the preparation of SDS for Indian market.

As a signatory to the UN Globally Harmonised System on Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, it is assumed that India is on the verge of publishing a set of final rules governing the topic that will bring the country in line with UN requirements. Accordingly the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, formed a National Co-ordination Committee to prepare a National Action Plan for Chemicals for India. It is expected that a draft report of the National Action Plan will be released in the first half of 2018. The draft report will include plans for the revision of existing chemicals legislation and GHS adoption.

5.0 CONCLUSION:
GHS is the culmination of more than a decade’s work, which spanned a wide range of expertise from a multitude of countries, international organisations and stakeholder organisations. The work began with the premise that the existing system shall be harmonised in order to develop a single, globally harmonised system to address classification of chemicals, labels, and safety data sheets. India has not officially adopted GHS so far.
The present statues of India in particular, the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules and the Factories Act does not confirm to GHS. Thus the concerned Ministries would have to radically revise these rules to avoid conflict and confusion with the new GHS Rules that would be introduced.

6.0 REFERENCES:

1. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists – Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices, 7th Ed, Cincinnati.
2. India – Ministry of Environment & Forests and Central Pollution Control Board –National Chemical Management Profile for India.
3. India – Ministry of Labour – Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes – Model Rules under the Factories Act. 1948.
4. India – The Central Motor Vehicles (CMV) Rules, 1989.
5. India – The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act 1986, Rules 1990 and Regulations 1990.
6. India – The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 along with the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
7. India – The Factories Act, 1948 and amendments 1976 & 1987.
8. India – The Maharashtra Factories Rules, 1963. Bombay, Labour Law Agency, 1994.
9. India – The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals (MSIHC) Rules, 1989 and amendments 1994 & 2000.
10. International Labor Office – Accident Prevention: A Workers Education Manual. Geneva, ILO, 1972
11. International Labor Office – Major Hazard Control, 2nd ed Geneva, ILO, 1990.
12. International Labour Office – Meeting of experts on harmful substances in work establishment: Report on the use of chemicals at work. Geneva, 1987.
13. International Labour Organisation – Code of Practice: Safety in the use of chemicals at work, Geneva, ILO, 1990.
14. International Labour Organisation – Convention Number 170, concerning safety in the use of chemicals at work, Geneva, ILO, 1990.
15. International Labour Organisation – Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, 4th Ed. (4 Volumes), Geneva, ILO, 1998.
16. International Labour Organisation – Recommendation Number 177, concerning safety in the use of chemicals at work, Geneva, ILO, 1990.
17. International Labour Organisation – Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work: an ILO Code of Practice. Geneva, ILO. 1993.
18. International Labour Organization – Prevention of Major Industrial Accident. (Convention No. 174), Geneva, ILO.1993.
19. Lees, Frank P – Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 3 Vols. Second Edition, Oxford, Butterworth – Heinemann, 1996.
20. Nair, R.R. – A Basic Guide to the Material Safety Data Sheet (S & H Series 1) New Bombay, Safety and Health Information Bureau, 1989.
21. Nair, R.R. – Bhopal Tragedy. FASLI News, Volume 1 No. 2, December 1984.
22. Nair, R.R. – Chemical Safety – An Overview, Industrial Safety Review, September 2016
23. Nair, R.R. – Exposure of Chemicals, Industrial Safety Review, May 2012
24. Nair, R.R. – Glossary of Technical Terms used in the MSDS (S & H Series 2) New Bombay, Safety and Health Information Bureau, 1989.
25. Nair, R.R. – Hazard Communication System: A Lecture Note
26. Nair, R.R. – Occupational Health in India, Industrial Safety Review, April 2016
27. Nair, R.R. – Potential Hazards of Chemicals, Industrial Safety Review, February 2012
28. Nair, R.R. – Safe Handling of Compressed Gases, Industrial Safety Review, March 2012
29. Nair, R.R. – Safe Handling of Corrosives, Industrial Safety Review, April 2012
30. Nair, R.R. – Safe Practices of Handling Compressed Gas Cylinders, Industrial Safety Review, January 2015
31. Nair, R.R. – Safety in Handling Hazardous Chemicals, Industrial Safety Review, November 2017
32. Nair, R.R. – Toxic Chemicals, Industrial Safety Review, April 2018
33. Nair, R.R. and Alappad, Vinod – Safe Transport of Hazardous Chemicals by Road, Industrial Safety Review, August 2015
34. Nair, R.R. and Chakravorti, S. – Safe Handling of Hazardous Chemicals (AICTE – CEP Publication Code No. 1016) Bangalore, AICTE, 2001.
35. Ramaswamy, S.S. and Nair, R.R. – Statutory Provisions on Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Safety in India (AICTE – CEP Publication Code No.957) Bangalore. AICTE, 2000.
36. Safety and Health Information Bureau (SHIB) – Material Safety Data Sheet on various chemicals. Navi Mumbai, SHIB.
37. United Nations – Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), UN GHS Purple Book, 1st ,2nd ,3rd ,4th ,5th ,6th and 7th Edition, New York and Geneva
38. United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods – Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, 9th Edition. New York, United Nations, 1995.

Article by —–

Mr. R. R. Nair is currently the Director of Safety and Health Information Bureau. He is an ex-employee of Central Labour Institute, DGFASLI, Mumbai, and retired from the Government Service after 28 years. He has more than 50 years’ experience in occupational safety, health & fire protection. He participated in a number of seminars, conferences, workshops on safety, health and fire protection at National and International levels. He has carried out about 85 projects in safety, health, environment and fire protection (safety audits, accident investigations, environmental studies, hazard identification and risk assessment (HIRA), hazardous zone classifications, fire safety audits in high rise buildings, etc.) PAN India. He is author of 15 books and about 80 articles in various topics on safety and allied subjects.

He can be contacted on:
M: +91 7045172050, +91 9224212544
Resi: +91 477 2266994
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Website: www.shib.co.in

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